North Carolina – Republicans
Democrats Feeling Better
Democrats have been more down than the Dow Jones Index since the Republican convention. But there is a definite uptick this week, with one exception. Here is my reading of the Democratic Election Mood Index (DEMI) as of today: The air is going out of the Palin bubble. Thanks, Tina Fey. Bad economic news is…
Read MoreEasley’s Farewell Gift
Down to his last four months in the governor’s mansion and looking ahead at his future beyond politics, Mike Easley has given his wife a five-year contract to work at North Carolina State University for $170,000 a year. Democrats are giving Sarah Palin the devil for trying to fire one Alaska state trooper – but…
Read MoreMcCain-Bush?
With the polls heading the wrong way, the Obama campaign has to consider whether tying John McCain to George Bush is a winning strategy. Since Denver, the Democratic message has been that McCain means four more years of Bush. But McCain may have used his convention to slip out of that trap. Picking Sarah Palin…
Read MoreI Believe! (Maybe)
Like the True Church, politics long ago split into two faiths: Organization and Media. I follow the Media faith. But the Obama campaign is trying to show that Organization leads to enlightenment. Or at least to victory. If organization works, this will be the year. It used to work. At late as 1976, organization played…
Read MoreLieutenant Governor Syndrome
Jim Hunt was the last lieutenant governor elected governor. Thirty-six years ago. And Hunt had the advantage of being No. 2 under a Republican governor, so he could run against the Ins. Since then, lieutenant governors have not fared so well: Jimmy Green, Bob Jordan, Jim Gardner and Dennis Wicker (my friend and client). Now…
Read MorePerdue in Peril?
It’s a sure sign of an anxious campaign when the manager releases internal polls. That’s what Zach Ambrose had to do this week for Bev Perdue after a WTVD poll showed her trailing. That came on the heels of the Carville-Greenberg poll. Perdue’s campaign released a memo from Garin-Hart-Yang, the campaign’s pollsters, showing Perdue ahead…
Read MoreThe Stealth Candidate
What happens if a candidate turns out to be so bad at being a candidate his campaign doesn’t dare let him loose on the public – say, because every time he opens his mouth the campaign totters on the brink of destruction? The solution: A Stealth Candidate. It’s an old tried and true formula. Sixteen…
Read MoreStarting Worse and Going Downhill
I watched the first thirty minutes of the Perdue vs. McCrory debate. The “Thriller from Manila” it was not. About the time I was ready to doze off, McCrory, self-righteously praising himself, said, ‘I have never run a negative ad.’ That woke me up. I hate it when a candidate does that. Doesn’t McCrory believe…
Read MoreWhat Perdue and McCrory Have to Do
Tonight’s debate is a chance for Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory to step out of the shadows of the national party conventions and the U.S. Senate race. Time to fill in the picture of themselves – and their opponent. Their race is close, maybe even tied. They have eight weeks. Here are three things each…
Read MoreShallow Strikes, Again
Bev Perdue says it’s terrible, shady, and awful: The Republican Party, Washington branch, is attacking her in ads. President Bush, himself, she says, has taken time off from dealing with Georgia and Iraq to orchestrate the ads – just to be sure she doesn’t get elected (Bev Perdue Committee email, 8/28/08). But there’s one problem:…
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